Chapter 298: Thermal Perception
In an instant—
A searing 2,000°C heat surged from Pakura 's body. Everything touching her skin—her clothes, even the insects—instantly melted and vaporized.
Hyūga Tongguang and the others, rushing toward her, disintegrated like molten iron rolling off a furnace in human form.
Within mere moments, all sixteen Konoha ninja surrounding Pakura had perished. Only Aburame Shiguro and Nara Shimada remained, still at a distance.
"N–no… urgh!"
Unable to process the sudden deaths of his comrades, Shiguro cried out—but he didn't even finish the word.
Pakura appeared right in front of him.
Her speed was so extreme, even a powerful jōnin like Shiguro couldn't react.
A blazing, magma-like arm had already pierced through his chest.
The intense heat from her arm melted his torso, leaving only skin connecting his upper and lower halves.
Just like that, Aburame Shiguro was dead.
"Aaaah!!!"
Nara Shimada's eyes turned red with fury. His shadow transformed into tendrils and lashed out in all directions toward Pakura .
Ssshk!
A streak of red flashed by. Shimada felt something slice through his chest.
He instinctively looked down and saw a fiery-red hand piercing through his chest, the burning heat melting flesh and bone at terrifying speed—just like what he'd witnessed moments earlier.
"…"
Eyes wide, Shimada stared at Pakura , trying to speak. But even the pain was gone. Darkness swallowed his thoughts.
Thud!
Pakura pulled her arm free, and Shimada's body collapsed to the ground.
Now, every Konoha ninja at the outpost—except for the medic Seizan and the wounded Nara Yuzen, who had fled—had been wiped out by Pakura .
"Lady Pakura …"
Only now did the stunned Suna-nin react. They had just witnessed their commander, who was on the brink of defeat, slaughter every Konoha ninja in the blink of an eye.
Just as they prepared to regroup with her, she was gone—vanished, leaving only a single command:
"Wait here."
"Yes, Lady Pakura !"
The Suna-nin froze and responded instinctively.
Then, remembering the fleeting image of her graceful figure vanishing, they realized—Pakura was likely changing clothes. If they followed and saw something they shouldn't, they'd probably end up like the Konoha corpses.
They stared silently at the charred remains on the ground, inwardly vowing never to cross Pakura .
That new taijutsu technique of hers was too terrifying.
Speed and heat. Who could possibly fight that?
Whoosh!
Pakura hadn't gone to change. She was still in Crimson Heat Mode, streaking through the woods at incredible speed in pursuit of the two fleeing Konoha shinobi.
Like most taijutsu-based modes, her new form greatly enhanced her speed.
Through a year of battle-hardened development, Pakura had conditioned her body at the cellular level to withstand 2,000°C temperatures—leading to the creation of her Scorch Release: Crimson Heat Mode.
As is commonly known, heat is the energy of molecular motion.
At extreme temperatures, particles move at very high speeds.
In this state, Pakura 's cells and muscles entered a phase of intense activity.
Her blood flow was five times faster than normal.Her muscle contraction speed was ten times her usual.Her neural response rate was twenty times higher.
With all these boosts, Pakura 's movement speed in Crimson Heat Mode was five times her previous top speed.
That was five times the speed of an elite jōnin.
Her top speed now rivaled that of the Third Raikage in Lightning Chakra Mode.
Combined with her twentyfold faster neural reflexes, Pakura dashed through the forest like a streak of scarlet lightning.
Before long, she spotted Nara Yuzen and Seizan.
Being seen by her meant only one outcome: death.
Ssshk! Ssshk!
By the time Yuzen and Seizan realized someone was behind them, their heads had already been severed.
"Trying to escape? Heh… too bad."
Pakura turned and sneered at the two headless corpses.
Once, catching these two might've taken effort. She might even have failed.
But now, Crimson Heat Mode didn't just give her immense speed and thermal defense—it had awakened a new ability:
Thermal Perception.
An ability to detect heat signatures—with a range of up to ten kilometers. The closer the target, the clearer it appeared.
Every human constantly emits heat. To Pakura , they were like vivid, glowing red silhouettes—impossible to hide.
And unlike chakra sensing, this could not be blocked.
After all, no one can stop their body from radiating heat. Unless you're encased in ice—which, at that point, means you're practically dead and no longer Pakura 's problem.
In short, with Crimson Heat Mode activated, Pakura was now a true Kage-level powerhouse.
She had thermal perception, extreme speed and reflexes, potent heat-based defenses, and devastating offensive power.
In this state, Pakura had no obvious weaknesses.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't summon Enma and use the Adamantine Staff, he wouldn't be able to defend against her attacks.
And even with Enma, he'd likely still fall to Pakura in battle.
Of course… that assumed Pakura could maintain this state indefinitely, like the Third Raikage with his Lightning Chakra Mode.
As she deactivated Crimson Heat Mode and turned back, Pakura winced—feeling stabs of pain throughout her body.
Though her cells had adapted to 2,000°C, she couldn't maintain it for long. Prolonged exposure would cause irreversible physical damage.
She estimated she could keep the form active for five minutes max. After that, her body would start breaking down.
"Guess I'll have to keep pushing little by little."
She sighed. Once her cells could handle higher temperatures, she'd be able to hold 2,000°C Crimson Heat Mode for much longer.
Too bad the form only evolved into its enhanced state after reaching that temperature threshold—otherwise, even 1,000°C would've sufficed for now.
"Still… at least now I can stand toe-to-toe with real Kage-level fighters."
Pakura smiled. Then, thinking of Li Yao's Wind Release clone, she mused:
"I wonder if my brother-in-law will be surprised when he sees what I've created?"
With that, her smile only grew as she returned to her unit.
(END CHAPTER)
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